We're in Texas visiting my grandparents - we drove in yesterday so Peter didn't get a nap, then he wouldn't go down on his own because it's a strange place so he didn't go to bed until 10pm last night (with me), then he didn't get a nap today because we were out.

7:30 tonight I started getting him ready for bed and talking him through what was going to happen (basically exactly what happens at home, but in a different bed) and he was upset but doing his best. Anyway, time came to put him down and he climbed up and laid across the pillows (like he always does at home), then cried a bit but was quiet after a few minutes so I knew he'd gone to sleep. Whew.

The cutest part is that I went in to check on him a little while ago and he had moved so that only his upper body is on the pillow and he had pulled the blanket on and basically tucked himself in. So adorbs.

Grey was constipated for the last couple days (he finally pooped), anyway, this morning he woke up at 4 and s trying to go, couldn't but then he was AWAKE. So, I took him to the living room and I payed on the floor with pillows and blankets and I let him watch tv. After a couple hours Nate came down and I went to take a shower and stuff. Anyway a little while later I went downstairs and grey was sleeping on the rug with his head on the pillow and holding his bunny. It was the best. He has been perfect angel baby the rest of today. Lets see how tonight goes!

She is never going to learn to sleep. A forking hour to get her to sleep amidst Pappa walking down the squeaky hall and her twilight turtle turning off accidentally and rolling and hitting the side of the bed. Now some 50ish minutes later she wakes screaming hysterically. Karl working his hardest to get her back to sleep.

Today...I feel like we will surely die before she grows out of this. I know it's not true, but I'm tired of vomiting, being in pain all of the time, being stupid...just tired. So very goddamn mother forking tired.

refinnej, obviously I'm never around here and don't really know what you're going through but it's like you took the words right out of my mouth! Z was always such a good sleeper and still is. D on the other hand is a nightmare to get down and still wakes up several times a night (almost 9 months old) to eat. I can't figure out a good nap schedule that works for her...so she doesn't really ever end up napping either. The lack of sleep is making my fibromyalgia flair up badly. I had severe morning sickness with D that kept me in the hospital for most of my pregnancy...only the puking hasn't stopped. I'm finally going to see a gastro doc on the 20th. So yes, I feel like I too will never sleep again, hurt like hell, and am WAY over vomitting. Hugs!

I think most of you breastfeed from what I've been reading. D is a formula fed baby. I don't know if that makes a difference. Once she turns one I'll be switching her off formula to soy milk. Anyone know if this is going to make night feedings even more frequent? Z slept through the night at a very young age. I'm at a loss. Our pedi says she doesn't need the nighttime feedings and to just let her cry. What!? I mean I'm not against a child learning to soothe herself to sleep but full on screaming I'm just supposed to ignore? Not to mention she will wake up the entire house...not just me. It seems cruel to everyone involved. Is there any easier way to wean nighttime feedings or just cross my fingers this ends soon?

Malka is formula fed. We weaned her down by giving her an ounce less per bottle for a couple nights, then an ounce less for a couple nights, and so on. She's down to one waking and not even every night. I don't think switching to soy milk will matter because they're not hungry really, just can't deal with the empty belly or have a sucking need. We have stayed on formula, though, and will be on it at least till 18 months - she just doesn't eat enough food for it to make sense to switch to something less nutritious.

We are trying to get grey night weaned so the last two nights Nate has been doing all night duty and getting grey back to sleep without any feeding. Of course, I still hear every time he wakes and tonight that has been frequent. The power keeps going off and that means greys sound machine keeps turning off. And our motherforking cat, omg. He is driving me insane. All night he wants out and then in. He walks around meowing and scratching everything until you let him out, then ten minutes later he comes back and scratches the door in our bedroom, nonstop, until you let him in. I have been up for hours (it's almost 4). I know Nate has slept like crepe and that in another hour or so I will have to take care of grey while Nate goes back to bed. I'm so tired of being awake all night. I'm so angry at the cat.

refinnej, I am so very sorry....we have friends with a girl who's about to turn 3 and she was the worst sleeper ever until she hit 2 - she now sleeps 12 hours straight without a problem! Just a little posi anecdote there, I know it doesn't help much! hugs dear.

amajorrecords, I also have a toddler who was and still is a supergreat sleeper since like 6 weeks old and I feel I'm being punished almost with a baby who at 7 months old wakes up at least every 2 hours. And yeah the whole "let her cry" thing is not really an option firstly because I don't believe in it but also majorly because she's in our bedroom in crib in an alcove unless she's in our bed and we live in an apartment and have neighbors! So, it's not like that would help us sleep any better anyway. There are those nights when I'm like "maaaaybe I can let her cry for 5 minutes and just see what happens" but I never do because uh she's 5 feet away!

littlebear, we have 4 elderly male cats and that situation is getting bad too. We've all learned to tune out the nighttime playfulness but can't tune out the fact that one of them poops everywhere like once a month and another one has taken to pissing on things every once in a while: including last night around 11pm I headed in to go to bed - tiptoeing all the way since Sierra is in her crib at this point and I'm hoping for a half hour in bed by myself - and find Moe-the-orange running away, after having pissed on our bed in 2 spots up by the pillows AND a bit on our comforter. Having to turn on the lights, change the sheets and climb up into a closet for a different blanket while of course waking Sierra = just awesome. (Just fyi, I realize there could be medical issues with the cats so I'm really just venting here and not trying to be a horrible pet owner, we are currently looking for a vet with bulk rates haha)

Audrey, try Cat Attract if you can. We spent a metric butt-tonne of money getting our cats checked out, only to get a completely clean bill of health showing that wasn't why they were pissing outside the litterbox. The Cat Attract fixed it for us. And our situation was nastay - peas everywhere and puddles of peas where you'd lease expect it.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Malka is formula fed. We weaned her down by giving her an ounce less per bottle for a couple nights, then an ounce less for a couple nights, and so on. She's down to one waking and not even every night. I don't think switching to soy milk will matter because they're not hungry really, just can't deal with the empty belly or have a sucking need. We have stayed on formula, though, and will be on it at least till 18 months - she just doesn't eat enough food for it to make sense to switch to something less nutritious.

I will try this! Thank you for the advice. I curious about you waiting to switch off formula at 18 months. With my youngest I switched at 12 months but she switched to cows milk. She wasn't a great eater but thrived with just milk a small amount of food. Obviously there is a lot less fat in soy milk than whole cow milk. Is that the reason you are choosing to wait? Or did a doctor recommend it? My daughter only really eats fruit/veggie purees twice a day. I'm offering finger foods but she never ends up actually eating it.

amajorrecords, I also have a toddler who was and still is a supergreat sleeper since like 6 weeks old and I feel I'm being punished almost with a baby who at 7 months old wakes up at least every 2 hours. And yeah the whole "let her cry" thing is not really an option firstly because I don't believe in it but also majorly because she's in our bedroom in crib in an alcove unless she's in our bed and we live in an apartment and have neighbors! So, it's not like that would help us sleep any better anyway. There are those nights when I'm like "maaaaybe I can let her cry for 5 minutes and just see what happens" but I never do because uh she's 5 feet away!

We always joke that D is just helping remind us that we wanted her to be our last. Sigh. I was up 3 times last night but am thankful she sleeps more than 2 hours at a time! My heart goes out to you.

Ugh, it looks like poopiebaby is done with his daily nap. He hasn't napped for the last three days... please tell me this could just be a phase and it's not definitely the end?

Yes, how old is he? Around two and half or three Z started fighting me on naps on occasion. We had bad weeks and then she would go back to her usual napping routine. At 4 she still naps on school days as she is worn out. Other days it's a lost cause. Most parents are preschool are amazed she still takes naps however. I can normally tell by her behavior at this point if she needs a nap or will be okay without.

My infant however refuses to nap...or sleep through the night. I wish I could function without sleep. She doesn't really even get grumpy. So jealous, lol!

Audrey, try Cat Attract if you can. We spent a metric butt-tonne of money getting our cats checked out, only to get a completely clean bill of health showing that wasn't why they were pissing outside the litterbox. The Cat Attract fixed it for us. And our situation was nastay - peas everywhere and puddles of peas where you'd lease expect it.

Cats peeing and howling while the baby is sleeping is a true horror! I'm having the same problem with one of mine. I might try that litter.

Last night Scarlett only woke up three times and I feel more rested than I have since she was born. I think before this point I've been too tired and busy to even realize that she's not a good sleeper. But it's official!

Malka is formula fed. We weaned her down by giving her an ounce less per bottle for a couple nights, then an ounce less for a couple nights, and so on. She's down to one waking and not even every night. I don't think switching to soy milk will matter because they're not hungry really, just can't deal with the empty belly or have a sucking need. We have stayed on formula, though, and will be on it at least till 18 months - she just doesn't eat enough food for it to make sense to switch to something less nutritious.

I will try this! Thank you for the advice. I curious about you waiting to switch off formula at 18 months. With my youngest I switched at 12 months but she switched to cows milk. She wasn't a great eater but thrived with just milk a small amount of food. Obviously there is a lot less fat in soy milk than whole cow milk. Is that the reason you are choosing to wait? Or did a doctor recommend it? My daughter only really eats fruit/veggie purees twice a day. I'm offering finger foods but she never ends up actually eating it.

Sorry for the slow response. Switching from formula to any kind of milk (including whole fat cow's milk) is a step down in terms of nutrition. One of the major things cow's milk and all of its analogues (soy, almond, rice, etc.) lack is iron, and they're high in calcium, which blocks iron absorption. Having too much of any kind of non-human milk (or human milk analogue like formula) risks iron-deficiency anemia - our pediatricians recommend no more than 16 oz. of milk a day and my daughter drinks around 25 oz. of formula a day with no sign of slowing down. There's a whole slew of other minerals and vitamins that aren't found in milk, but are in formula (and breastmilk), so it seems to me that it makes sense to delay switching to milk until I have some confidence in the well-roundedness of my daughter's diet (which I totally do not at this point - she is a terrible eater). The book "Vegan for Life" (which is a great resource on vegan nutrition) recommends not switching from breastmilk/formula to plant milk until you're sure the kid's diet is high in zinc in particular. Our doctor was very much in favor of us staying on formula (but it wasn't her suggestion). I think toddlers seem to thrive on almost every diet, no matter how restricted, but if I have the chance to maximize her nutrition early on, that's what I'm trying to do.

Speaking of sleep, teething is now kicking our asparagi. Malka didn't go to sleep until after midnight last night and then was up before 8. She wouldn't nap today, either. Luckily she went down tonight at a relatively normal time (9:45ish). We drugged her with ibuprofen, hopefully it'll last.

I was nursing Leela down to sleep and my partner popped his head in to say he was heading out and did I need anything. Right as she was drifting off. Cue another 90 minutes of overtired toddler. Grrrr arrgh.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

ahh Tofulish and Ariann, my partner can handle being silent/not moving around while I'm nursing S to sleep but Dahlia oyyy that's another story. I know, crazy to expect a 3.5yr old to be quiet but the worst is she totally gets that she needs to be, and often does it right up until the moment Howard takes Sierra from my arms and starts to walk towards the bedroom with her. Right at that moment she NEEDS to tell me something about apples really LOUDLY. Eff.

annak...I would pay good money for that ability! We're getting pretty good at it now, but man some days I swear I'm going to pee my pants (or die from boredom when I can't sleep and have forgotten my phone)

Sorry for the slow response. Switching from formula to any kind of milk (including whole fat cow's milk) is a step down in terms of nutrition. One of the major things cow's milk and all of its analogues (soy, almond, rice, etc.) lack is iron, and they're high in calcium, which blocks iron absorption. Having too much of any kind of non-human milk (or human milk analogue like formula) risks iron-deficiency anemia - our pediatricians recommend no more than 16 oz. of milk a day and my daughter drinks around 25 oz. of formula a day with no sign of slowing down. There's a whole slew of other minerals and vitamins that aren't found in milk, but are in formula (and breastmilk), so it seems to me that it makes sense to delay switching to milk until I have some confidence in the well-roundedness of my daughter's diet (which I totally do not at this point - she is a terrible eater). The book "Vegan for Life" (which is a great resource on vegan nutrition) recommends not switching from breastmilk/formula to plant milk until you're sure the kid's diet is high in zinc in particular. Our doctor was very much in favor of us staying on formula (but it wasn't her suggestion). I think toddlers seem to thrive on almost every diet, no matter how restricted, but if I have the chance to maximize her nutrition early on, that's what I'm trying to do.

Thank you so much for the info. I have a lot to learn! I just put a hold on that book at the library. Everyone has been so nice and helpful on the PPK. I really appreciate it. :) I think D is almost over her cold. Once she stops comfort eating all night I'm going to start decreasing the amount in her bottles when she wakes up and see how it goes. Wish me luck!